A
Renton woman faces multiple charges of Felony Theft after scamming more than
ten families out of nearly $50,000.00.

Cookie
Saovongxay listed her former residence, a house on Cedar Avenue in Renton, as
available “for rent” on the Craigslist and Zillow websites. She showed the house to potential renters,
had them sign leases, and collected payment amounts between $3,800.00 and
$5,700.00 from each. Saovongxay, a
twenty-year old college student, does not own the house.

“These
families have nowhere to go,” said Detective LeAnn Whitney. “They’ve given notice at their current place
and gave their first/last/deposit money to Cookie Saovongxay. They don’t have money left to put a deposit
down somewhere else. This woman’s scam
has left these families homeless.”

The
thefts were first reported to Renton police on February 15; since then, an
additional nine victims have come forward – and police believe there are
more. Despite having been arrested for
Felony Theft, Saovongxay continued the scam, luring potential renters via web
posts and cashing their deposit checks. She
was arrested again, and is scheduled for arraignment on March 16th
for charges stemming from the first report.

Renton
Police are asking anyone with information about the scam, especially those who
have been victimized by Saovongxay’s greed, to call 425-235-2121 and make a
report. “The more cases that are
reported, the more charges we can file against her,” said Detective Whitney.